<p>Could someone please help with these two questions?</p>
<p>1) Can a student file a FAFSA application w/o any support from parents?
2) Can a dependent student obtain student loan w/o any support from parents?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Hi Luku…you’ll get much better answers if you start a separate thread of your own…but here is my opinion. with these questions.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>To complete the FAFSA, you need both your parents’ tax information and your tax information…and asset info (bank accounts, etc). Both you and your parents need to sign the FAFSA (using a PIN number if you do the FAFSA online). If you are a dependent student, this is required…no exceptions. SO…you will need information to file the FAFSA from your parents and they will need to have a PIN to sign the form upon completion (you need your own PIN too). You cannot complete the FAFSA without your parent information if you are a dependent and most undergrads ARE dependent for financial aid purposes.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If you complete the FAFSA, you will be eligible for a Stafford loan. This is a loan in the STUDENT’s name only and does not require a cosigner. However the amount is limited to $5500 for freshman year. If your EFC is low, you might also qualify for a Perkins loan…again in the student name only.</p>
<p>If you are looking at other loan sources, it is very unlikely that most private lenders will loan you a significant amount of money in your name only unless you have significant income/assets (collateral) to support this loan. In other words, private lenders probably will not lend you money in your own name without a cosigner as YOU have no way of guaranteeing that these loans will be repaid…not enough income…not enough assets. Typically, the parents are the cosigners of private loans as a cosigner is basically saying that if YOU default on payment, THEY will pay your loan back.</p>
<p>If I sent in my 2008 forms to IDOC a week ago and must now send the completed 2009 ones, do I use a different cover sheet and send all of the information (including institution-specific stuff) again to IDOC?</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>Preparing for Finaid Applications</p>
<ol>
<li>First, have a discussion with your parents re: college finances. It is important to know what your family will consider contributing towards your college expenses BEFORE you apply to colleges.</li>
</ol>
<p>NOTE: You should expect more than one of these conversations as it becomes clearer what colleges will cost and what if any financial aid you have a chance of receiving.</p>
<p>NOTE TO PARENTS: In estimating college costs you shold estimate an overall (compounded) increase of about 7% each year. One year there will be a tuition increase, the next year dorms or food, but overall an average of about 7% annually from the previous year for something (or things).</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Check the school websites. The deadlines and application forms requirements vary WILDLY from school to school. </p></li>
<li><p>Deadlines…Deadlines…Deadlines. Once you find out the deadlines, do not miss those dates. Have your information sent in advance of the deadline just in case there is a goof up and you need to resend something. If you don’t apply on time, you jeopardize your chances of receiving finaid.</p></li>
<li><p>Make sure you have a financial safety in your mix of college applications. It is important to have a school that you would like to attend AND that you can afford to attend, regardless of financial aid.</p></li>
<li><p>IMPORTANT…If financial aid is a consideration…do NOT apply EARLY DECISION. Do NOT!! ED is a binding acceptance. When you apply ED, you are agreeing to attend the school if you are accepted. Don’t assume that “not meeting your finaid” will easily release you from a binding ED acceptance. If you apply ED, you do not get the opportunity to compare financial aid packages from multiple schools. Yes, it is said that if the school does not meet your need, you can back out of an ED acceptance. BUT there are two things to remember…the SCHOOL determines your need, not your family. AND they can meet your need with loans as part of the package.</p></li>
<li><p>Keep good financial information for the tax year you will be using for your finaid applications. You may need to use this information to do estimated finaid application forms prior to when you complete your taxes.</p></li>
<li><p>Speaking of taxes…this is the year to complete your taxes (both you and your parents) ASAP after January 31 (which is when you should have all of your tax info…yes, I know the self employed have problems with this…but you self employed folks…do the best you can to get this done ASAP). This is NOT the year to do taxes on April 15.</p></li>
<li><p>The FAFSA is available online for filing on January 1 of the year your child is applying for finaid (e.g. Jan 1, 2008 for the 2008-09 school year). Plan to file very close to Jan 1 using accurate estimates using a “will file” status, meaning you will be filing your taxes for the 2007 tax year. Then complete your taxes ASAP after Jan 31, and you can amend the FAFSA online and resubmit indicating that you have filed.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>NOTE in filling out the FAFSA be sure to take into account whether the past or current year is representative of your financial picture or is skewed for any reason.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Profile…in most cases you will be completing the Profile, if required by your school, at the same time as your FAFSA. BUT check those deadlines…if you are applying EA or ED, or for some scholarships, there could be a priority deadline for filing and this could be as early as October. And yes…you would be using accurate estimates. Sadly, the Profile cannot be amended online once your taxes are complete…you need to do that by hand and send to the college(s). But don’t miss the priority deadline if there is one.</p></li>
<li><p>Check to see if your college(s) requires their own finaid application form. Some do…and these need to be completed as well.</p></li>
<li><p>Keep good records and copies of EVERYTHING. Print out your FAFSA and Profile, and tax returns (even if you do them online). </p></li>
<li><p>Look to see what a school requires. Some schools require income tax forms (signed) as part of the application process. </p></li>
<li><p>Important!! Some schools require completion of finaid forms for both need based AND merit aid. Make sure you understand what the college requirement is…don’t assume anything…and remember again, that the requirements vary from school to school.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>NOTE (Repeat emphasis): Some schools will automatically consider all students for merit aid while others will require a separate application. Some schools will require a FAFSA even if you are only applying for merit aid (or don’t expect to receive any need-based aid). So check each school separately; don’t make any assumptions, especially an assumption that what applies to college A will apply to colleges B through G.</p>
<ol>
<li>Use the online finaid calculators as they will give you an ESTIMATE of your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). These will NOT give you an estimate of your finaid award. There IS a difference.</li>
</ol>
<p>NOTE NOTE NOTE Do not expect that the school’s estimate of your “Expected” Family Contribution will in any way match, or even come in the vicinity of your estimate of what you can afford. In most cases a school will estimate your expected contribution to be much higher than you think it should reasonably be (unless you are a pretty low-income family). Think of it similarly to sticker shock in buying a house.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You can only submit to TEN schools at one time for the FAFSA. If you apply to more than Ten schools, you will need to submit the application to the first ten schools…wait until it is processed…then go in and amend. Delete the first ten and add the others. </p></li>
<li><p>Full free rides are out there but they are not the dominant form of finaid offered. </p></li>
<li><p>Most schools (even those meeting full need) require a student contribution. Make sure you can meet this need as well.</p></li>
<li><p>Re: amending the FAFSA (after you complete your taxes)…the only info you amend is that which reflects the correct numbers from your tax returns. Your asset information (bank accounts, etc) is not changed UNLESS there was a mistake. If there was a mistake, you change the asset number to the correct one as of the date of your first filing of the FAFSA (this happened to us…we put an incorrect account down…and needed to change it to the correct one).</p></li>
<li><p>There is a locked thread entitled “Financial Aid Resources” at the top of this area. The sites there will provide you with a LOT of information and I would urge you to read them.</p></li>
<li><p>If you are an undergraduate student, your place of residency for financial aid purposes is the state in which your parents reside. It is NOT easy to get independent student status for financial aid purposes or in-state tuition in a state in which you do not reside.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>NOTEL if you are an international student (family lives abroad, I believe even if you are US citizens) you have no state of residence and might not qualify for in-state tuition anywhere. You also are less likely to receive financial aid, depending on the school.</p>
<ol>
<li>Realize that to get a free ride, you either have to be:</li>
<li><p>Poor and willing to go to Berea College, a Christian college that accepts only poor students and gives them free rides.</p></li>
<li><p>Poor and so stellar that you can gain acceptance to places like Harvard.</p></li>
<li><p>A Harvard-quality student of any income level who’s willing to go to a 2nd or 3rd tier college that offers merit aid.</p></li>
<li><p>A Harvard EA (no, Harvard doesn’t have EA any more, but if it did, you’d need to be of this quality) quality student who is so amazingly wonderful – far, far above the normal outstanding student-- that a first tier place like Duke, Wake Forest or University of North Carolina would give you a free ride. You have to be so amazing that people are predicting you’ll be a Rhodes Scholar some day.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Unless you are in one of the above categories, don’t even dream of a free ride. Realize that you’ll probably be like the majority of college students and have to take out close to $20 k in loans to pay for a total of four years of college. You also will be like the majority of college students and have to restrict your dream school to a place that you know you can afford – which for most people means some in-state public school, not a gorgeous private reach school on the other side of the country.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Also expect to have to work summers to help pay for your college education.</p></li>
<li><p>FAFSA requires a PIN number for both the student and the parent. YOU apply for the PIN on the same website that you file your FAFSA. Both the student and parent must apply for the PIN numbers and they do take A COUPLE OF DAYS TO RECEIVE. If your deadline for filing with your school is 2 days away and you still haven’t applied for your PIN, you may not make that deadline. Go ahead and apply for your PIN number as soon as the site allows. Good news is that your PIN and your childs PIN carry over from year to year. Each additional child will need their own PIN. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>From Thumper…I believe you can apply for your PIN number at any time (now would be fine). </p>
<p>Additionally,. I recommend
24. Call the financial aid office for clarification of how they handle “outside” scholarships (like the ones from parents employers, local organizations etc). Do NOT expect that these will simply reduce your out of pocket expenses. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Keep a spreedsheet of all deadlines and keep adding to it.</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t think you’re done after you file the FAFSA and CSS. Continue to check websites and mail. Many schools also require “verification” or additional documentation to be sent through IDOC. Seems schools have a variety of methods for requesting this info.</p></li>
<li><p>Keep a list of how/when you will receive info from the school: snail mail, parent e-mail, student e-mail, web site, wetc. (almost missed one of those precious deadlines because an e-mail was “overlooked” in son’s e-mail account)</p></li>
<li><p>Try to do things BEFORE the deadlines. college board website was down for quite a while this year making a lot of people VERY nervous!</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I notice question 7 regarding the taxes. I worked in 2009 and made about $13,528. That is the only income I’ve made. They sent me a 1099 form. I know that I’m going to be filing but on my financial aid it does not mention anything about a 1099 form, just a 1040 and 1040A or 1040EZ. Plus I’m a independent student even know that im 23 years old. I guess they still consider you a Dependent until the age 24. Don’t understand why because my mom and dad does not support me, I take care of myself. Just a little confused on how this works.</p>
<p>Can someone please help me?
Okay i am a junior in high school now and i will be applying to schools this summer–doing fafsa etc etc. For financial aid, i need the tax returns of my parents–they are married and both live in the same house (w/ me)</p>
<p>Here the ISSUE:
–My mom files as head of household (i think she might even be writing single too be/c i looked through her tax thing and it didnt have the spouse’s (my dad’s) name)
–My dad does not file at all
–My dad was supposed to go with my mom to do the taxes correctly this year, but be/c she wanted more money returned she totally ignored my dad’s request -_-
–my mom got her money back (tax check–whatever you call)
–my dad is now trying to schedule an appointment for himself before april 15 to straighten things out.</p>
<p>BUT i need the 2009 tax returns for colleges
–is it possible for my dad to straighten things out in time?
–what will be the penalties?
–will he be able to get tax returns too?*</p>
<p>You answered Luku’s question really well, and I have a similiar question but a little different, my EFC=0 and my parents would not have to contribute anything however when i got my conditional aid report( its conditional because we stilll need to file 2009 taxes) it said that both me and my parents will get loans??? Why do my parents have to get loans for me as well, is there some way to change it so that only I will be paying for college?
Secondly, if I wait too long to file my 2009 income tax report, will my conditional decrease?</p>
<p>Would updating the FAFSA at this point for the filed tax return 2009 affect anything? The estimates that I had put were correct.</p>
<p>I live with the bioogical father of our child, He supports both of us. We are not married. We are not even a couple. Do i report is income on the fafsa?</p>
<p>You really would be better served here starting your own thread with your question.</p>
<p>Clan…is this the biological father of the college student or another child? If it is the college student, first you need to check if your state is one that recognizes common law marriages. If it does, you would be considered married if you have lived together long enough to fulfill the criteria.</p>
<p>If not, I believe your student would list the parent that provides more of their support… In this case the father.</p>